


best-laid plans

by earthbendz (adroite)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ba Sing Se, Ba Sing Se University, College, Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Tea, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), sokka is an organized boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adroite/pseuds/earthbendz
Summary: Sokka just wants one thing to go right today, and the cute cashier at the tea shop downtown may just be able to help with that.
Relationships: Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 318





	best-laid plans

There are many, many things going wrong today.

While Sokka tries not to make his daily schedules too detailed, knowing full well he has to leave room for interruptions and natural disasters within his routine, he still prides himself on running a well-oiled ship. On Wednesdays, he gets up around seven in the morning, showers before Toph or Katara has had a chance to use up all the hot water, and seamlessly enacts his thirty-minute morning routine. The contents of this routine include but are not limited to: getting dressed in the outfit he chose the night before, doing his hair in the way he typically does on Wednesdays (a warrior’s wolf tail with a little braid in the front), and completing his elaborate skincare ritual.

Generally, there isn’t room in this routine to be forced out of the bathroom by his younger sister rushing to shower because she forgot she had standardized testing before school today.

“Maybe you should use the reminder app I downloaded on your phone specifically for this purpose!” he shouts after her once the door has been slammed in his face. How is he supposed to apply his toner and moisturize without the bathroom mirror and natural light from the east-facing window?

“Little late for that!” Katara yells back as the shower rushes to life. And then, as if reading his mind, she follows up with, “Just go use dad’s bathroom! You know he isn’t awake yet.”

She has a point, but Sokka would rather not tiptoe past Hakoda and Bato just to use their bathroom that doesn’t even have a window, let alone one that’s facing east. He settles for using his phone’s front camera to finish his skincare routine in his and Aang’s bedroom. It goes surprisingly well until he grabs his backpack and realizes that his laptop is missing. Katara’s the only other person awake in the house, and she’s currently showering, so he resists the urge to shout and starts to rush around in a silent furious search. He eventually finds it on the kitchen counter, Minecraft still open and running— _Aang and Toph_. He tries not to be too upset as he shoves it in his bag and heads for the door, skipping his usual 7:45AM toaster strudel so that he can catch the bus on time.

Some spirit must be out to get him today, because the bus schedule has changed. He watches it zip past just as he shows up to the stop, and it takes everything in him not to yell in frustration. Instead, he takes a deep breath and sends a quick text to Suki.

_i’m 100% going to be late for orgo today. do you want your regular drink from the cafe?_

Sokka usually tries not to be late for things, but his principle is that if he’s going to be a little late, he might as well be a lot late. It’s no less disappointing for himself or for the professor. Plus, if he stops at the cafe before class, he can get his daily iced coffee, which will at least partially fix his morning. Suki responds affirmatively and he feels himself relax as he gets on the next bus to the Middle Ring. Today is going to be just fine.

… 

Of course the cafe is closed. He rereads the sign posted on the door probably twenty times, unwilling to believe that his one thread of hope to fix the chaos of this morning is gone. _Closed for Renovations through to 10/18_. What kind of renovations? The cafe is perfect. Nothing needs to be renovated. Sokka is ready to give up, considering skipping his first class altogether, when he catches sight of another cafe about a block away. He’s seen it in passing before but never really been drawn to it until now. The Jasmine Dragon—it’s a little fancier than his usual hangouts, but if it means he gets his morning coffee and Suki gets her iced green tea, it might be worth it.

A little bell rings when he enters, and the guy standing behind the counter glances up but doesn’t say anything. He looks vaguely familiar—messy black hair, burn scar on one side of his face—probably just another university student; it’s a big school. Sokka takes a few steps forward and looks past the guy, reading the menu. It’s handwritten on a big chalkboard, and Sokka realizes this is probably one of those quaint family-owned places that charges way more for drinks than the chains do so that they can pay their employees decently. As he’s skimming the menu, he realizes that he’s only seeing different types of tea.

It could be that this is a tea shop rather than a general cafe, but don’t those places usually at least have some kind of shitty black coffee for the caffeine-addicted students that come through with their saner friends? At least they’ll have Suki’s green tea, but there are far more options than Sokka anticipated, and he has no idea which one Suki will prefer. He latches onto one that looks familiar. “Can I get a Sencha green tea? Iced?” The cashier writes down the order on a small slip of paper. “And… do you guys have coffee?”

“No, sorry,” he says, and Sokka can tell he’s probably had to answer this question a million times. He tries not to be frustrated towards the poor cashier, but he’s running out of places to direct his anger at how his morning is going. “I can suggest some stronger caffeinated teas, if that’s what you’re after? We also have snacks—”

“That’s okay,” Sokka says, cutting him off and laughing. All he can do at this point is laugh. He looks at the guy’s name tag. “Zuko. That’s totally okay. You know what? Make it another iced green tea. My friend’s been trying to get me to try it for a year, might as well see what the hype is all about.”

Zuko scribbles down a tiny “2” on the paper next to Suki’s order. Before he tears off the sheet, though, he looks up at Sokka hesitantly. “Are you sure…?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Sokka says. “Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

Zuko shrugs. “Kind of a big leap to make for a coffee drinker. I mean, my uncle’s Sencha is pretty good, but I don’t know if it’s exactly what you’re looking for. I recommend chai, maybe. Or matcha, if you still want to try green tea. And I recommend getting them hot.”

For a moment, Sokka is viscerally offended. Does he look like he asked for recommendations? The last thing he needs this morning is some fancy tea shop guy telling him what he should and shouldn’t be drinking. He opens his mouth, ready to tell this guy off, but something stops him. There’s an earnest expression on Zuko’s face, his pencil hovering patiently above the small slip of paper. Sokka comes to his senses and realizes that this guy is trying to interact with him as a human, not just as a stupid caffeine-addicted customer. He takes a deep breath, trying to let go of the interrupted morning routine, the stolen laptop, the changed bus schedule, and the closed cafe. 

“Chai sounds good, actually. I’ll try that. Hot.”

Zuko smiles triumphantly and crosses out the “2”, scribbling Sokka’s order beneath Suki’s. “Is that going to be for here or to go?” he says.

“To go, please.”

“Alright.” He tears off the little sheet and types in the total into the old, outdated cash register. Sokka pays with what little cash he has—he was right about the prices being higher—and stands off to the side as he waits for the order to be ready. It’s still only him and Zuko in the teashop, and he feels awkward just standing there silently, so he tries to think of something to say. For some reason, not at all related to how cute the cashier looks in his green apron, he’s drawing a blank, but Zuko comes to the rescue and says something first. “Do you go to Ba Sing Se University?”

“Yep,” Sokka says. “How’d you know?” It’s a sarcastic question, given that the tea shop is located less than a mile away from campus, but nonetheless, Zuko answers by pointing nonchalantly at Sokka’s torso. He glances down and realizes he’s wearing his Ba Sing Se University sweatshirt—the same one that he slept in last night. “No—” he mumbles, glancing even further down and realizing he’s wearing the joggers he slept in as well. “Holy shit. I forgot to get dressed this morning.”

He looks back up at Zuko, slightly mortified, and is shocked to see a small smile on the cashier’s face. Without warning, the two of them burst into laughter. In the midst of his laughter, Sokka pulls out his phone and sends another text to Suki. 

_ok, i’m skipping orgo. meet me at the jasmine dragon after class_

Once he and Zuko have managed to catch their breath, Sokka grins and says, “You know what? I think I’ll actually have my tea here.” He grabs a seat close to the counter, so he’s still within talking distance of Zuko. His phone buzzes, and he glances down at the text from Suki.

_\- wtf is the jasmine dragon? i better get my iced green tea_

_\- you will you will. there’s this guy who works here i think you’ll like_

_\- new crush?_

_\- NO. ok maybe. just shut up and come here after class_

_\- screw that i’m skipping orgo too_

“Will your friend be joining, or should I keep the green tea as a to-go order?” Zuko says, leaning against the counter. He pushes a few strands of hair out of his eyes, and Sokka’s “maybe” to Suki’s crush question suddenly turns into a definite yes.

“She’ll be here. In the meantime…” Sokka pauses, scrambling to think of something smooth to say, some cool conversation topic that will make this guy interested in his internal life. He was nowhere near this flustered before he had a crush on him. “Um… in the meantime… we should, I don’t know… do an activity together.” He smiles sheepishly.

Zuko smiles back. “Sounds like fun.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of a larger AU that i'm developing and hope to write more of, let me know what you think!


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